Hey Everybody! Welcome to the first chapter of my new story, My AOT x Naruto crossover is doing pretty well considering it has only been out for 2 months.
I've been bouncing around a few ideas between different authors on the platform, in which I have finally come up with an amazing idea for my story.
This will be an OC story that follows along the Canon timeline for the most part. I'm releasing only the first chapter to see if people want me to continue.
Without further adieu, welcome to Son of the Ripper, an original OC character made by yours truly. Hope everyone enjoys it!
Disclaimer: I don't own AOT, if I did Isayama would probably send Eren Yeager to my house. I do own my OC though so...yeah...
Chapter 1: Mission
A manilla folder was slapped down onto the metal convergent table littered in an eerily dim room. Out of the shadows, a man dressed in Interior Police garb, sat down with a defying grunt.
The man lifted his head to where only his scruffy chin-strap beard was visible to the occupant of the room seated neatly across from himself. He reached up to the top of his head to remove his black cap, fitted with a white stripe dancing around the fold.
The other member of the room sat silently, knowing not to defy the silence unless spoken to. He was a good soldier, undying loyalty and prestige in combat at the highest tier. Yet to some, he had barely scratched the surface of true potential.
His black hair blew softly in the gentle drift of the outstretched window adjacent from his position, pushing miniscule light into the dark room. The boy's face was chiseled and riddled without the baby-fat one of his age was destined to have, accompanying a perfectly unblemished face devoid of any discerning markings. The young soldier's grey-blue eyes met the figure in front of him, betraying no emotion, waiting for the inevitable mission from his…
A raspy voice broke the silent nature of the small room, "Finn...I have a mission for you. It is long-term indefinitely, and therefore, you will be gone for quite some time. You'll be assigned to a person of interest, someone...personal...in a way." The figure lifted his fingers towards the packet and pulled out three photos of a blonde girl, no doubt his target.
"Her name is Historia Reiss, the niece of a man I used to know. She's going under the guise 'Christa Lenz', it is your job to infiltrate the 104th Cadet Corps and then the Military, preferably the Survey Corps, shortly after. I've taught you everything I know and you've never failed me before...the time has finally come for me to leave you to your own path. I did it with Levi, and as you know already, this day was to come eventually. Make sure no harm comes to the girl, she will come to claim the throne one day...it is her fate...never forget that." The older man drew out cooly, emotionless and exerting an authority of power. He always told him that aura he felt amongst himself and his father was that of his blood. The strongest humans amongst the walls, undoubtedly.
The Interior Policeman's report was met with a stoic nod. "I understand Kenny."
His time had come.
"As expected...my son." With his version of a good-bye, the tall man left the room, putting his hat back to its rightful place on top of his head. The metal door slowly closed, clicking with the indication of figuratively displaying the indefinite dismissal of his Father from his life.
'Goodbye Father.'
1 Week Later; 104th Cadet's Rite of Passage
"You there!" The bald Commander, Keith Shadis yelled at a blond boy in front of him, shaking at his superior.
"Yes sir!" The young boy exclaimed, trying his best to look the Commander in the eye.
The bald Commander scoffed at his timidness, "Who are you?!"
"Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina!" Armin exclaimed, eyes began to widen at the indication of where he was from. Keith took their shock in stride and continued to hammer the boy.
"I see. A name fit for a retard! Did your parents give it to you?!" Shadis drilled.
"My grandfather did sir!" Keith Shadis seemed to take delight in that answer, preparing to continue.
"Why are you here?!"
Armin closed his eyes and replied loudly. "To help humanity achieve victory!"
"How very admirable of you! We can feed you to the Titans first!"
"Third row, about face!" Shadis palmed his scalp and turned him around. "Who the hell are you?!"
"But what's all the intimidation for?" One of the new Corpsman assigned to the training the Cadets asked to the fellow comrade to his left.
"It's a rite of passage. We turn them into a blank-slate through self-denial, then mold them into proper soldiers." The man replied shortly, obviously being a veteran.
Shadis continued to move on as he glared angrily at the sweating cadets drifting in between the rows searching for his next victim. "Fourth row, about face!"
"There's some he's not talking to." The soldier said as Keith ignored the stricken emotionless looks of Annie Leonhart and a Black-haired teenager standing a foot taller than her.
"There's no need for them to receive the rite of passage, more than likely they had been residents of Wall Maria, before…" Mikasa, Eren, Berthodly, Reiner, and Ymir panned with the identification of the soldier.
"Who the hell are you?!" Shadis stopped upon a decently tall teenager with a light brown hair shaven down on the sides.
"Jean Kirschtein, from Trost District!"
"Why are you here?!" The Commander glared unflinchingly at the Cadet.
Jean sweat bullets as he said, "To join the Military Police, and live in the Interior!"
"Oh. You wanna live in the interior do you?" He asked.
"Yes!" Jean smiled.
He was immediately head-butted, sending him to his knees in pain, holding the spot of contact.
"Who said you could sit?! If you can't handle this, you can forget about the Military Police!"
"Who the hell are you?!" Keith rounded on his next victim. "Why are you here?!"
"Marco Bott of Jinae, on the south side of Wall Rose!" Marco smiled naively. "I want to join the Military Police and give life and limb to the king!"
"I see. That's a fine goal, indeed. Go ahead and strive for it. But, just so you know," Keith said, getting into Marco's face, "the king doesn't want your lousy life or limbs."
Marco stared, shaken.
"You're next! Who the hell are you?!"
"Connie Springer! I'm from Ragako Village on the south side of Wall Rose!" Connie was saluting with the wrong hand.
"You have it backwards, Connie Springer!" Keith grabbed his head and squeezed, pulling him a foot off the ground.
"It was the first thing you were taught! This salute expresses your resolve to give your heart to the people!"
Two rows behind and to the left was a girl with brown hair, sending one of her hands to her mouth.
"Is your heart on your right side?!" Keith demanded.
CRUNCH
The grounds were silent, the only sounds being Sasha chewing and swallowing. Keith dropped Connie. "Hey, you. What do you think you're doing?"
Sasha didn't seem to have heard him.
Sasha took another bite.
Keith was suddenly in her face, yelling. "I'm talking to you! Who the hell are you?!"
She chewed quickly, swallowed, and saluted. "Sasha Braus from Dauper Village, on the south side of Wall Rose!"
"Sasha Braus." Keith towered over her. "What is that you're holding in your right hand?"
"A steamed potato, sir! I found one in the cookhouse that was ready to eat so I couldn't help myself!"
"You stole it? Why? Why did you decide to eat it now?"
"I felt it would be a waste to let it get cold, so I elected to eat it now."
"No, I don't understand. Why did you eat that potato?" Keith was so genuinely confused.
"Are you asking me why people eat potatoes, sir?"
"Here's half of it for you." Sasha held it out almost reluctantly. Shadis looked almost unbelieving at the scenario he was in.
"Half?" The brunette held out barely a third of the potato to her superior who just continued to stare.
Later
Finn stood by himself at a corner of the porch in front of the dining hall watching the Dauper girl huffing along. It was an amusing sight. He heard footsteps to his right as people came out from the dining hall, probably observing like he was now.
He listened in to their conversation, seeing as they couldn't see him.
"Whoa, he still has Potato Girl running," Connie observed.
"Man, she's been at it for five solid hours." Marco was impressed. "She's really something. Still, being told to run until she's on the verge of death didn't seem to bother her quite as much as being told she has to skip dinner."
"Dauper's a small hunting village in the mountains, isn't it?" Connie said to himself.
"What's that?" Eren asked, noticing a carriage.
"They're dropouts," Mina answered. "They asked to work in the fields instead."
"What?" Armin said. "It's only the first day, too.
"That's just how it is here," Eren said. "The powerless have no choice but to leave."
'...' The black haired teenager continued to listen in, observing as usual. He needed to make contact with his target, yet he didn't need to rush. He only had brief instances where he saw her, but from what he had seen, she didn't seem very important nor held any semblance of noble mannerisms.
Shortly after, the little group returned to the dining hall. Over one of the free tables, he saw his target sitting with a taller girl with brown hair and freckles. Her features were very exotic, he almost lost his stoicism at her beautiful complexion, but collected himself so he could be introduced to this 'Christa Lenz.'
The two girls watched through their peripheral vision as a tall boy with black hair walked towards their table, ignoring the other free tables. The freckled girl narrowed her eyes at the black haired boy, she prided herself on being able to read people's emotions just by observing them, yet she couldn't bypass the emotion passiveness of his stature.
The tall boy slightly scared Christa as he looked at her for a second, as if needing confirmation.
'He's...intimidating." The short blonde reigned in her terror. 'His face...I just don't…'
"Is it alright if I sit here?" The even and slightly raspy voice asked for permission politely.
Christa continued to stare at him, Finn raised his eyebrow, thinking he said something wrong.
He never had much interaction with people his own age before...or ever. He was a soldier from birth, he was trained to be a killer and a good one at that, was his visage already slipping?
"Since she is obviously scared of you, I think it would be best if you came back later." Ymir said sickly sweet, although her tone was slightly condescending.
"Oh. I see. I apologize, I'll find somewhere else." The black haired teenager cursed in his head. He wasn't trying to be frightening, he had much experience talking to women before, was it because other children found his height or stature to be too much?
Ymir looked at his retreating from frowning. The boy didn't even do anything, but for Christa's case, she was still scared as if she had seen a ghost.
"Jeez Christa, he just asked to sit, what's your problem?" The brunette asked while palming her spoon trying to at least enjoy the mediocre food.
The short blue eyed girl turned her head, letting out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding. "I...I don't know. Aren't you a little intimidated by him?" Christa asked with a low voice so their conversation wasn't overheard.
"Hmm...no...he seemed pretty normal to me, besides, it wasn't like he was trying to frighten you or anything. Although he is hard to read, I'll talk to him later or something." Ymir said with a frown. The blonde responded with a small nod, returning to a silence, both being lost in their thoughts.
The black-haired boy sat down at a free table in the corner next to where everyone was crowding around a single bench. It was the arrogant boy from earlier who called the people leaving weak.
Considering how his first conversation with people his own age went, he realized he should probably listen into conversations to see how others interacted. If it helped his mission, then so be it.
"I can't believe anyone would want to pick up rocks and pull plants again." The brown haired boy sighed.
"That reminds me." Marco straightened. "You weren't asked to state your name and birthplace or anything."
"I'm from Shiganshina, same as him." Eren smiled at his best friend.
"Oh. That means..."
"You were there that day, weren't you?" Connie asked.
"H-Hey!" Marco said.
"Did you see the Colossal Titan?"
"Y-yeah." The boy responded, obviously feigning strength fumbling over his words.
Inside the mess hall, a group had surrounded Eren's table. "Like I said, I saw it."
"Really?" Thomas asked.
"How big is it really?" Samuel asked.
"Big enough to look over the Wall."
"What?! I heard it stepped over the Wall!"
"Me, too!" Hannah said.
"That's what they said in my village, too!" Franz jumped in.
Eren took a sip of his soup. "No, it wasn't that big."
"What did it look like?" Mina asked.
"It had a huge mouth, and almost no skin."
"What about the Armored Titan that broke Wall Maria?!"
"That's what people call it, but it looked like an ordinary Titan to me," Eren said.
'How peculiar...what a naive child. He is extremely arrogant, that will surely get him killed one day.' Finn continued to eat, opening an ear and observing through his peripheral vision.
"Th-Then, what are ordinary Titans like?!" Samuel looked eager and a little scared.
Marco spoke up, "Let's spare him the questions, everyone. I'm sure there are things he doesn't want to remember."
"Sorry for asking—" Connie began.
"It's not like that!" Eren took a bite out of his bread. "Titans aren't actually that big of a deal! Once we've mastered the 3D gear, they'll be nothing to us!"
'This is what Kenny informed me about. People treat the precursor to the military as if it's a game, most don't even have experience with seeing a Titan first-hand.' The black haired Cadet finished his food, still listening to the ramblings coming from the Yeager boy.
Finn noticed that his line of thinking wasn't the only thought process in which many were sharing witnessing the scene. It seemed the Kirschtein boy was about to lose it.
"We finally get to train as soldiers. I was just overcome with emotion, that's all. I'm going to join the Survey Corps and drive the Titans out of this world! I'm gonna slaughter—"
"Whoa, what are you, crazy?" Jean called out. "Did you just say you're gonna join the Survey Corps?"
"Yeah, that's right. Aren't you the one who wants to join the Military Police and live the easy life?" Eren said.
"I'm all about being honest, you see." The hazel haired teenager drew out, gaining enragement from the Shiganshina boy.
"It's much nicer than being, say," Jean said, smiling, face in palm, "a loser who acts tough but is actually scared shitless."
Eren stood, knocking his chair back. "Are you implying something?"
"S-Stop!" Marco held up his hands. "Come on now."
Jean met Eren halfway. "I wasn't really…"
A bell rang outside, breaking the tension.
Jean sighed. "Whatever, I'm sorry. I don't mean to dismiss your ideas. Let's call it even with this." He held out his hand.
Eren begrudgingly took his hand, obviously faking the apology. In some ways, Finn did agree with Jean, though Jean's reasons for interfering were of his own cowardice and self-interest. Not that he'd blame the boy, but he'd been in the interior, the Military Police were drawn to self-interests over their obligations as soldiers. The Interior Police handled all the mishap, they were the true Police, the ones who worked from the shadows and did the dirty work so the miscreants could live in women, money, and booze.
These people didn't know the realities of the world...in all due time though.
The Shiganshina boy marched out the door, followed by a girl with similar features to himself. Her hair was a midnight black shade, accompanied by dull grey eyes and perfectly cared for pale skin. She was quite beautiful nonetheless.
Her beauty stopped Jean in his tracks as he trailed her retreating form.
"H-Hey, you!" Jean blushed hard when she looked at him. "Uhh, err, I've just never seen anyone who looks like you before. S-Sorry! You have very pretty black hair."
The way she stared at him was quite humorous to himself. She obviously had no eyes or ears for his person.
"Thanks." That said, Mikasa walked away.
Jean paused for a second before chasing after her. Looking around, he saw her fall in step with Eren.
'What a cruel twist of fate.' Finn thought, amused.
"It's no big deal. Get off my back," Eren complained.
"You never think things through when you get worked up," Mikasa chided.
"That again? Anyway, don't you think your hair's too long?" Eren casually flipped her hair with the back of his hand.
He frowned at that. 'I don't really like this fellow and I never judge people off of a first glance. She obviously cares for him and he betrays her confidence in herself and her selfless adornment.'
"It could cause an accident during 3D gear training, you know."
"Alright." Mikasa pinched a few strands between her fingers. "I'll cut it."
"But how short should I make it?" Mikasa asked.
Connie was walking by, humming cheerily to himself when Jean wiped his hand on his back. "H-Hey! Don't mess with other people's clothes! What did you wipe on me?!"
"My faith in humanity."
'Tch. Arrogance and a short temper. The girl seems to not take any offense, do women like condescending men?' He fiddled in his mind, watching the short bald boy trying to grab onto the invisible mark on his back.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a short blonde girl shuffle out the dining hall in the direction of the panting 'Potato Girl'.
"Finally…done…" Sasha collapsed on the ground. A figure came from the shadows. Her nose twitched. This is... Wild-eyed, she attacked the newcomer, knocking her to the ground. "Bread!"
"It's not much, but I saved it for you." Christa held up a waterskin. "Oh, but you really ought to drink some water first."
"Are you a goddess?!"
Christa looked confused. "Huh?!"
"Are you?!"
"Uhh…"
"Goddess!" Sasha cried out again.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Ymir came up to them.
Sasha, looking like she was afraid Ymir was going to take the bread from her, began eating it in a frenzy.
'That girl seems to already be close with my target, I wonder…' He sat still watching the situation pan out.
"Umm, she's been running non-stop all this time," Christa began, "so—"
"So you're trying to do something nice, huh?"
"Huh?"
Sasha passed out in Christa's lap.
"Did you do it for Potato Girl's sake? Was what you gained worth the effort it took? You really are two sided after what you pulled early, it's almost hypocritical." Ymir asked. Christa didn't know how to reply. "Well, whatever. Let's just get her to her bed now." She picked up the unconscious girl.
"Are you trying to be nice, too?" Ymir scoffed at her blatant and naive reply.
"I'm doing this so that she'll owe me. Her stupidity will come in very handy." Ymir walked carrying the sleeping form of Sasha, seeing a figure watching from above on the porch, she narrowed her eyes.
Taking in the shape, she realized who was watching, 'Him? Isn't that a tad creepy?'
Finn stood there lowering his head, he didn't want them to think he was watching them for unseemly reasons, 'The tall girl is very cunning from the few moments I talked with her, she's been trying to undress my personality and obituaries from observation.'
Ymir scoffed, thinking he was some weirdo and continued to strut to the Female Dorm. She was going to talk to that boy one way or another.
A Few Minutes Later
The black haired boy was sitting in one of the chairs, observing the night sky in all it's ethereal beauty. It was peaceful and freeing from the exuberant tides of his life that crashed against him relentlessly.
His head lazily drifted over to the steps as he heard the creaking of someone approaching.
"You'd think after being caught stalking, the guilty party would return to whatever perverted hole it crawled out of." The even and slightly low voice for a female broke through the silence ensured by the nightly atmosphere.
It was surprising to hear someone accusing him of being 'perverted', she was obviously trying to push his buttons in order for him to give away any kind of emotion. "I was merely observing. I found the Shiganshina boy out here and then I caught that girl playing the savior. You amuse me as well." He said cooly, still sitting in the wooden chair staring at the night sky.
"Hmpf. Amuse you? How so?" She asked trying not to show her annoyance at the tall grey eyed Cadet.
"You've been trying to ascertain a personality to associate my person with, and at first I thought I was being disrespectful and spiteful as to where I was frightening someone. Though you seemed perfectly fine with what I said, though I'm not very certain how to interact with others if I'm being honest." Ymir's eyebrows furrowed, questioning as to why.
"You thought you were at fault for someone being completely dismissive because of yourself?" Ymir asked, slightly confused.
"Yes. Would it be stupid to say I thought she was scared because I was tall?" The 5'11 boy spoke out, trying not to sound ignorant to the fellow Cadet.
The girl laughed outright at his statement, "Haha, of course! I mean, it was more your face than anything."
Finn turned his head to the side, cocking his eyebrows downwards, "My...face? I've never had the problem where people are afraid of what I look like. I'm afraid I can't change that."
"No you can't...I never caught your name. I was thinking this conversation was going to go a completely different route." The freckled girl stated, walking close and sitting next to him, taking in the slight chill in the air.
"Finn...no last name." He stated, looking at her.
Of course he had a last name, but it was ill-important to his time right now.
She smiled at that for a reason he couldn't decipher. It wasn't a pleasant smile, more like a mischievously amused smile he got from Kenny. "Hmm...Ymir...no last name."
He nodded his head in a small pleasant introduction before returning his gaze outwards. "Why did you become a soldier Finn?" The question caught him slightly off-guard.
"...Never had a choice. My family was filled with soldiers, it wasn't like I had any choice in the matter. I'm attuned for it anyway, I'm strong, I know I am and I can't cause shame to myself and that image." Finn replied, never missing a step. They sat in silence though one was oblivious to the cause.
"Not going to ask me?" The brunette said feigning hurt in a mocking voice.
"No I'd never judge someone for their reasons for being here, unless it conflicts with myself." He was being somewhat hypocritical after picturing Eren, but then again, he was meant to protect the Future Queen and being comrades with someone like that, could impose on his mission that was overly more important than Yeager's life.
She was generally intrigued by him, not since she came to the walls had she ever met some like this before. It might be too early to really decide what kind of person Finn was, but she could tell that he was eerily similar to herself in a way. Ymir didn't know whether that was reassuring or not.
"So...using that Sasha girl for your own endeavors because she clearly owes you a favor now...I would have done the same thing. You remind me a lot of myself I guess, it's kind of scary." Finn said, not bothering to look at the skeptical look on her face. She was contemplating whether he read minds or not, it was her literal train of thought not a few seconds before.
"As if I'd want to be compared to a creep like you...You know what, you're not so bad, you can be an acquaintance of mine. It's not everyday you find someone who has realistic views of the world in a naive entrapment such as here."
"Like...a friend?" He asked suspiciously, anyone who ever tried to get close to him, always wanted something in return.
Ymir laughed rudely, "Nope. Just don't be a stranger," She paused before yawning, "Well Goodnight, we have the aptitude thing tomorrow and don't stalk me anymore." Finn frowned at her being dismissive, but it was alright in his book, at least she didn't demand anything from him.
"Right. Goodnight."
Next Morning
"We'll begin by determining your aptitude!" Keith began. "If you can't do this, you're not even fit to be bait! You'll be sent off to the fields!"
Across the training field, trainees hovered, balancing using the wires.
"These are only just the bare fundamentals." The silver-haired superior of the Training Corps approached. "Still, you can determine a person's knack for 3D gear-mobility at this stage." Something caught his attention. "Observe." Mikasa was balancing with ease. "Completely steady. She knows exactly what to do and how to do it. That's what aptitude is all about."
Finn watched from within the crowd, it was very impressive indeed. She seemed to have natural ability that no one else in the group possessed. Definitely someone to watch out for if she was capable like this in all other subjects of training.
"It looks like we have many talented trainees this year."
Connie, Sasha, and Jean were doing fairly well themselves.
"Umm, what about him?" The younger man asked.
"Now that's another definition of aptitude," his superior replied. "Some people might have plenty of motivation yet turn out to be less than capable."
Eren was hanging completely upside-down.
'Hmm...his arrogance came back to haunt him. Though aptitude in ODM gear isn't dependent on superficial belting, it just didn't seem possible that a product meant for helping one in stabilizing, was working against what its purpose is for.' The black haired Cadet presumed, still glazing over to Mikasa who watched Eren anxiously.
He would have to meet this Mikasa girl, she really was an intriguing subject. Perfect balance was almost inconceivable after a first try...for normal beings, but he himself had done the same thing when being fitted for IP gear.
"Cadet Finn! Approach Station Three for testing!" Shadis shouted into the crowd.
The trainees parted way for the tall, but leanly built teenage who already had the stature of a veteran soldier. His black hair drifted slightly walking to the forefront, muscles rippling with every step, getting some girls to flush at his figure. Grey-blue eyes peered uninterested and bored, shining under the harshness of the summer sun.(Think of Oikawa from Haikyu basically)
Dressed in the usual Cadet garb, the trainee had a dark grey shirt underneath with a built in compression mask that covered his neck up until it covered his nose. (Kakashi Mask)
Ymir, seeing how he had changed his appearance from yesterday, knew the reason for the mask. For some reason, to which she didn't understand, he took Christa's timidness at being approached by him to heart.
He stepped into the harness quickly, getting a raised eyebrow from the Commander who had supervisors on stand-by who helped the newcomers. He almost seemed experienced with ODM gear, leaving him slightly suspicious of where someone like that would learn such a thing, although it wasn't unheard of, considering Erwin busted three criminals in the Underground adaptively using ODM gear a while back.
"Raise him!" The bald Commander ordered, smirking as the boy didn't move a single inch upon leaving the ground. Even the Ackerman girl had trouble at being lifted off the stationary position.
The crowd watched in awe as Finn stayed stagnant without any fidgeting like everyone else besides Mikasa had done. Eren and Armin eye's shot wide as saucers at someone being equal if not better than Mikasa at something physical wise. Eren himself didn't even hold a candle to his adoptive sister in that aspect, but this guy was making her look like a step below himself.
Mikasa narrowed her brow. Someone was trying to prove themself better than her even though she wasn't trying to compete against anyone, and in front of Eren no less. She didn't want Eren to be dependent on someone else for improvement besides herself.
Ymir grin slyly at watching her recently made acquaintance. 'I knew you were hiding something...maybe even more.'
"Even better than Ackerman! Now this is aptitude, get him down! Mina Carolina, get your mud-rolling swine ass up here!" The grey eyed cadet, jumped down and set back off into the crowd. People converged on him congratulating him, but he merely nodded his thanks and continued on, clearly deep in thought.
'He said better than Ackerman...so that's why she looked so familiar to myself...I should've known.' He stopped momentarily to peer over at said girl eyeing him with slight disdain evident in her eyes. 'So I got off on the wrong foot with my cousin as well...why do the women hate me? I covered my face!' He sighed lazily, finding his way back to his original spot never noticing the set of blue eyes watching his back.
Later that evening, Mikasa instructed Eren. "Just follow the basics and you'll be able to do it. Don't think about being fancy or anything. Focus on your front and back balance, then slowly place your weight into the belts on your waist and feet."
"You can do it if you stay calm," Armin continued. "Even I did it, after all."
"Alright, I feel like I've got it this time. Lift me up, Armin." Eren was still for a second before face-planting into the dirt.
In the mess hall, two trainees spoke, highly amused.
"Hey, Daz, isn't he the one who said he was gonna slaughter all the Titans yesterday? I guess it's off to the fields for him tomorrow."
"Yeah, we can't afford to feed the useless." They both shared a laugh at the boy whose head was wrapped, staring off into space.
"Eren." Mikasa gripped his shoulder, causing him to flinch in pain. "There's no point worrying about it."
"You can just learn to do it tomorrow," Armin said.
"How pathetic. There's no way I can wipe them out like this." Eren grit his teeth in obvious rage.
"You should just forget about that altogether." His adoptive sister said, forgetting Eren was extremely defensive about his goal.
"What did you say?" Eren turned to her.
"I'm saying you should give up trying to be a soldier. Fighting isn't about simply throwing your life away."
"Hey, now! I saw what happened that day! Do you really think you can just convince me to quit?!"
"Still," Mikasa said, "it doesn't matter how determined you are."
"Huh? Why not?!" Eren demanded.
"Because you don't get to decide if you're fit to be a soldier or not."
The bell rang, signaling the end of the meal.
"I'm not saying you should return—"
"Let's go, Armin."
"O-Okay."
"—to the fields by yourself. You don't need to worry," Mikasa continued as they stood and walked away without her noticing. "Because wherever you go, I'll go with you." She turned to see Sasha in Eren's recently vacated spot, the mess hall empty.
"So, umm… What you're saying is that I can have that?" Sasha pointed to the food.
Mikasa held up the bread. Then took a bite out of it. Sasha's face fell.
A tall stature approached the table, eyeing the two girls in front of him. Mikasa raised her head at the imposing Cadet, seeing who it was, scowled slightly.
"Hello." Finn stood across from Sasha and Mikasa who eyed him with confusion evident of their faces.
"Hey!" Sasha exclaimed, trying to defuse the slightly awkward situation. Mikasa chose to stay silent, not necessarily enjoying his presence.
"You were impressive on the aptitude test, you'll need that natural skill when the time comes to use it." He pronounced leaving Mikasa to regain her emotionless abrasiveness.
"I don't understand." The Ackerman said honestly.
He paused to think about his words carefully. "Your friend Eren Yeager, I have no doubt he'll pass when the time comes. He'll make it through the entire training corps, but when it's time for him to fulfill his dream of 'slaughtering all the titans' out in the field, he won't make it long." It didn't come out how he wanted it to, but it was certainly along the lines, blunt or not.
Mikasa gained a furious look on her face that sent the Dauper girl spiralling backward off the bench. "Who do you think you are saying that?!" She grit enraged.
'How naive.' He thought. "You're right. I was out of line, I apologize for interrupting your dinner." Leaving the table after saying that, only furthered his dislike towards the guy she just met today. Sasha was holding her back, sweating bullets at the amount of hate drifting off the usual calm and collective girl. Although she did agree slightly with the tall guy, Eren was pretty crazy about killing everything outside the walls.
Finn knew what he said was right, so why did she get so mad? Did people not like hearing the truth, with Kenny there was never another way. Being nice and considerant got people killed, the truth only set people free. So why would someone blind themselves from something inevitable only to regret it when it was destined to happen.
"The trick to posture control? Sorry," Connie said, "but I'm gifted. All I can tell you is to 'feel' it."
"If anything," Jean mocked, "I'd like to hear your trick for staying sane after putting on such a pathetic spectacle."
"C'mon, guys! I'm begging you here," Eren said desperately.
"But didn't you say yesterday, 'If you can't cut it here, you have to leave?'" Connie paused. "Or, wait. Was it, 'If you don't got talent, you have to leave?' Which was it again?"
"Please! I heard you're both really good at it, Bertolt, Reiner!" Eren begged.
Reiner crossed his arms. "Sorry, but I don't think there are any tricks to just hanging there. I can't think of any especially helpful advice, either."
"Oh." Eren looked down.
"I guess we'll just have to hope for the best tomorrow." Armin began to get up.
Bert stopped him with a question. "You two are, umm, from Shiganshina, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are," Armin answered.
"Then you know how terrifying the Titans are. So why do you want to be soldiers?"
"Unlike Eren, I didn't witness the Titan threat firsthand," Armin answered. "It's just I decided I couldn't sit there and do nothing after the Royal Government forced people into that absolutely awful retrieval operation."
They all grimaced, remembering that disaster.
"I see."
"Where are you two from?" Armin asked.
"Reiner and I are from a mountain village on the southeast side of Wall Maria."
"Hey, wasn't that…?"
"Yeah," Bert said, "unlike the prosperous towns along the river, we didn't receive word right away. The Titans showed up well before the information did. It happened at dawn. The livestock was acting up, and these strange rumblings kept getting louder and louder. At some point, I realized they were footfalls of some sort. And then, when I hurriedly opened the window… After that l, umm, don't really remember."
Bert was lost in his thoughts. "Everyone was in such a panic—"
"Hey, now," Reiner interrupted. "What are you suddenly bringin' that up for?"
"Sorry. Basically, what I was trying to say is that you guys probably aren't like them."
"Them?" Armin asked.
"The others here who don't know the horror of the Titans," Bert said.
"Hey." Reiner put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
Around the barrack, boys laughed and smiled, sitting in groups on their beds.
Finn watched them from his bunk. 'Hmm...interesting.'
"Eren Yeager, are you ready?" Keith stared him down.
"Yes, sir!" Eren nodded. I'm going to do it! I am! I might not have raw aptitude, but no one has more guts than I do!
"Begin!"
'To hell with logic! I know it's completely baseless but guts are all I got!' The wires lifted Eren. 'They're my weapon!' He was hanging steady. Around him, the other trainees let out whoops.
'I did it! I'm doing it!' Then Eren began to lose his balance. And he crashed. "N-Not yet! I can still do it!"
"Let him down," Keith said.
'He stood for that long without the properties of the balancing belt, that's impressive core strength and determination. For all the brashness and aggressiveness, he's got an unusual drive that few have.' The black haired Cadet nodded his head, approving of Eren Yeager's feat.
"I-I'm—!" He sat on the ground, ready to cry.
"Wagner, switch belts with Yeager."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
This time, Eren easily hung in there. "Your equipment was defective. The belt you were using had a broken clasp. I've never heard of this part breaking before." Keith held the defective piece in his hands. "I guess we'll have to add it to the maintenance checklist."
"Then, even with broken equipment, he still managed to hang in there for a few seconds?"
"Whoa!"
Eren puffed at the crowd's awe. He had been too relieved the first time to notice.
"Th-Then, what about my aptitude evaluation?"
"You pass. Train hard!" With that, Keith walked away.
'I did it! I did it!' Eren threw his hands into the air, grinning. 'Whadya think of that, Mikasa?! I can do it!'
Mikasa stared, mouth open. Eren relished in shocking her and showing her that he could become a soldier. 'I can fight the Titans! There's no need for me to depend on you anymore.' Eren thought.
Mikasa fiddled with her scarf, eyes downcast.
"Looks like things worked out for him," Reiner said.
Armin smiled. "His eyes say, 'What do you think of that?'"
"No," Mikasa said. "He feels relieved that he doesn't have to leave me now."
'Grisha. Today, your son has become a soldier.' Keith thought proudly.
That Night
"Hello Ymir, Christa, I was wondering if I could sit here. I apologize for showing you my face yesterday, Ymir let me know that I was scaring people." The brunette let out a snicker at the tall boy's expense, who narrowed unflinchingly.
Christa would be lying if she said she wasn't still uncomfortable with him, but it was hypocritical of her to judge someone so fast and then turn around and act like she wasn't at fault. "Sure. It's alright. We were just discussing who we'd think would be in the platoon squads tomorrow." She chirped happily.
He nodded, gaining a second glance for confirmation at Ymir, who stared back, obviously giving her approval in her own way. The minor thing he learned about her from his brief talk with her yesterday was that she spoke her mind whether cruel or not, so seeing her not fret over him being there was somewhat of a relief.
"Well, Ymir said that she thinks she has 2 squads in mind she thinks would be definite. As you know, there's a leader who's usually the best soldier out of the platoon and then four members under their order. We think Mikasa will be a leader and then Samuel, Daz, Hannah, and Franz. Basically just a powerhouse balancing an overall weak team. Then the other squad which is kind of more of a wish then ideal, is You as leader, Ymir, Conny, Sasha, and Me. Though I'm not too sure because that squad would be pretty unbalanced, but Ymir said it would be fine."
Finn did like the idea of a team like that. Ymir's balance in necessity, Conny in durability, Sasha in reliance, and Christa in an anchored position. "That is a fine strategic sensibility and I have to agree. It may not seem balanced but with what I've seen with our minuscule time here, that would be a well-rounded team that would improve each other's abilities intertwined with the strengths of an elite unit."
"So you just accept a leader role like that? You don't quite understand people very well." Ymir laughed once more. He went along with it, because it seemed she got pleasure from others shortcomings.
"Right well, a leader has to be able to make the hard decisions, because the mission is more important than the single man. Though my views may not be shared by everyone unfortunately." Luck did not seem on his side as one person he did not want to hear that...did.
"What did you say?!" Eren Yeager gripped the table in front of him. Considering how close to the brown haired boy's table he should have known that his conversation would be overheard. "How can you sit there and say that?! If we didn't care about every single person's life then there would be not identity to who we are!"
Arguing with a vengeful and hate filled 'child' was not productive. He saw the value in life, but death meant nothing if the goals weren't accomplished. Kenny always told him 'Many over the few.' He ignored the boy in favor of continuing to eat his food as if nothing happened.
"Coward! You say that and can't even respond!" Eren exclaimed angrily, freezing the room as the laughter and clanking of utensils of the other Cadets stopped to listen in.
Like before, he ignored the trainee, measly words aren't enough. He had been through worse than a child throwing a tantrum over ideals.
The Shiganshina boy stood up from his seat, forgetting the protest of Armin and Mikasa. He was going to give this piece a shit a wake up call! "Bastard!" He went out to grip his shoulder and turn him around when Finn's hand shot out and gripped his wrist like a vice.
Eren grunt in pain as he tried to pull away, though the black haired teenager let go seeing Eren understood his place slightly.
He could no longer ignore someone trying to potentially threaten him. "Cowardice has nothing to do with it. We're soldiers, we're cannon fodder in the grand scheme and loss of life is necessary sometimes. Sometimes there is no right decision, a lesser of two evils. For example, the retaking of Wall Maria by the Wall Rose's refugees. 250,000 people died, meaningless death, but in result, you got to know the feeling of a full stomach and roof above your head once more. Civil War and Famine, replaced with the sacrifice of the older generation. That is true leadership, there was no other way, a war within the wall would result in a Human vs Human and then Titans once more. It's fine if you believe in the individual, but in the end, more end up dead with inaction and less weighted consciousness than one who shoulders it all." He declared face never inching out of his even and emotionless face. Though his speech seemed to make Eren and his friends sick, though for different reasons.
"You're messed up in the head...you have no remorse for what happened, you're sick...we knew people that went back there…" Eren said disbelieving of what came out of his mouth. Armin and Mikasa stood in the background, eyes facing the ground, but ultimately failing to support Eren.
Finn...was right.
"As did I...it proves nothing...they died so you could live...now return to your seat," He turned around and raised his voice, "I apologize for disrupting your dinner." He said to the entire room, who returned to their usual activities where his speech was centered on the topic of the night.
"Eren...come on." Armin grabbed his forearm pulling the raging slightly teary eyed boy away leading him to the outside. Mikasa glanced back once at Finn, meeting his eye for a brief second. She was undoubtedly loyal to Eren, but she couldn't protest his reasoning, whether they liked it or not, it was...necessary. Mikasa nodded politely and shuffled away after her brother and her childhood friend.
She didn't like Finn very much, but he was...tolerable.
Once they left, Ymir broke out into full-out laughter. "Wow...I think you just turned on half the girls in the room!" The brunette's exclamation was received with many flustered faces.
Across the room a blonde haired girl pulled into a bun, eyed the speaker.
He was truly an anomaly in a wave of ill-prepared children, 'Finn…hmm.' She eyed Reiner and Bertholdt, who nodded, acknowledging each other's presence.
Well that's all folks. I hope people enjoyed my first ever OC.
Finn Ackerman:
15 years old
5'11 Brown Hair, Grey-Blue eyes.
Son of Kenny Ackerman
Cousin of Levi Ackerman and Distant of Mikasa Ackerman (Although they don't know that)
If you want to know what he looks like, just search Toru Oikawa. That's who my characters look is based off of.
He's kind of a clean slate on personality because he's never really had any interaction with others his own age, so he'll be learning!
Also I'm open to pairing ideas.
Right now I'm heavily favoring a Ymir or Historia pairing.
Nonetheless, your pairing ideas are also noteworthy, thanks.
Please review and tell me your thoughts.
Thanks for dropping by. ;)
Next Chapter: Graduation and Begin Trost Arc
Ja ne.